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Castilland
The Kingdom of Castilland, also called Castilland, is a sovereign country on the continent of Aureos. Located just off the northwestern coast of Galais, Castilland is made up of four provinces: the Highlands, the Hearthlands, the Fenlands, and the Sutherlands, as well as two territories: the Ivory Isles, and Escados. While only around 200,000 square kilometres, Castilland has one of the wealthiest economies in the known world, and boasts a population of around 2 million people, around 1/10th of which live in its capital, Carthens. History Main article: Timeline of major events Before 1RE Castilland's native inhabitants were the ancient Thescans, who settled in what are now known as Escados and the Sutherlands, as well as parts of the Fenlands. The rest of the country remained largely uninhabited until the largest tribe of ancient Galais, known as the Castils, migrated west to escape a famine caused by wildfires that burned down the forests they occupied. Attempts to settle the country were at first thwarted by the Thescans who sought to protect their homeland, but they were eventually driven west by the Castils, who had greater numbers. Reign of Eduard Castilland's first king was Eduard the Ironheart, who with his mounted swordsmen descended from the Highlands to conquer the rest of the mainland. Not much is known about Eduard's conquest, other than that he saw little opposition from much of the other Castils, as many of them were farmers and had no means to oppose a king. This successful conquest marked the year 1 RE, Reign of Eduard. Relationship with Sereos The settlers of the Ivory Isles were uniquely isolated from the mainland, and were subject to raids by Sereosi pirates who roamed their southern waters and that of nearby Galais. Due to their position, the Isles became a pivotal point on the trade route between Sereos and Galais, and many attempts to conquer them were made. However, this changed when under Eduard's rule, the Isles became a protected territory and were henceforth defended by Eduard's army. After 12 RE After Eduard's death in 12 RE, the mainland broke into nine provinces which were controlled by each of his sons. Over time, these provinces merged into the four recognised today: the Highlands, the Hearthlands, the Fenlands, and the Sutherlands. Castilland was ruled by Eduard's direct descendants until 245 RE, when Sir Gregray Westerly, a knighted lord of Wessenpool, rose against King Godwin the Cruel following the rape of his daughter Allis, who served as handmaiden to the queen. Despite Gregray and his vassals being outnumbered three-to-one, they ambushed the king on Eduard's Road, castrated him, and dragged his body through the streets in an event called the Bloody Parade. Gregray then took the crown for himself and had the old seat of the crown burned, relocating from the Torchedstone in the Hearthlands down to Carthens, which to this day remains the capital. Illiam's Slaughter In 266 RE, Gregray's great-grandson Illiam Westerly sought to conquer the remain territory of Escados, with whom the Castils had been warring for hundreds of years. When he gave King Elio Salatin, the king of Escados, the ultimatum of surrender or die, Salatin sent back the head of his courier, declaring war. King Illiam was prepared. While Salatin readied his cavalry for attack, Illiam laid siege to the island. His men breached the shores with wave upon wave of flaming arrows, which dispersed much of the cavalry and destroyed the majority of Escados' fighting force. Severely crippled from the attack, Salatin's men were forced to retreat while Illiam travelled from city to city, ransacking every one they crossed and decimating every man, woman, and child they could find. The population of Escados was reduced by 75%, bringing their numbers from 250,000 people to around 60,000. This event, known as Illiam's Slaughter, went down in Castillan history as a triumph over their long-term enemy, but is considered a devastating war crime to the Escadosi. While this forced them to surrender King Illiam and become a territory of Castilland, relations between the two nations are shaky at best. Geography Castilland is a somewhat small country at only 250,000 square kilometres (97,000 mi²). It is made up of four provinces: the Highlands, the Hearthlands, the Fenlands, and the Sutherlands. It also includes two territories: the Ivory Isles and Escados. To the east lies the Fault of Fires, an undersea fault line between Castilland and Galais that is subjected to lots of volcanic activity. A particularly turbulent area of water called Farigner's Cod, after the mythical demigod Farigner the Fool, or more formally Flotsam Sound, lies to the north of the Ivory Isles, separated from the rest of Castilland by the Bay of Allis. Castilland lies on the continent of Aureos, with Sereos to the south and Perleos to the distant west. The Highlands As the name would imply, the Highlands are the northernmost region of Castilland. Their largest resource is iron, found in the Castil Mountains, the mountain range where the Old Castils first landed. These mines provide one of the largest industries in Castilland, and the Highlanders are known for their expertise in smithing and metalwork. Equally important is their logging industry. The main export of lumber is a type of dense blackwood from trees called behemoths, some of the tallest trees in the world. This wood provides the Highlands with one of the most lucrative businesses in existence, as it is the only place behemoth forests are known to grow. Needless to say, the Highlands are home to some of the wealthiest families in Castilland, most notably the Blackwoods, though the majority of the region is made of lower class miners and smiths. The Hearthlands The Hearthlands are the country’s largest grower of crops. With a slightly warmer climate than the Highlands, the Hearthlands are great for growing heartier crops such as grains, tubers, and vegetables, as well as lumber and game. The area is known for its many varieties of beers and ales, many of which have been prized throughout the country. Originally, this region was home to the seat of the crown since the dawn of 1 RE, as King Eduard thought it was the most beautiful part of Castilland. What is left of this original castle is known as the Torchedstone, as during King Godwin the Cruel's reign that it was burnt to the ground by the usurper, King Gregray Westerly. The Fenlands The Fenlands pale in comparison to their southern neighbour, as despite being just as warm, much of the area is inhospitable due to the immense amount of bogland, for which the region is named. It’s coastline borders the Flotsam Sound, which are some of the roughest waters in the world, which have earned themselves the name “the Charge”, as if the rocky coasts are constantly bombarded by the ocean’s cavalry charge. Because of this, most of the inhabitants of the Fens live along the Crownway, the man-made road King Eduard had his infantry build on his path to conquer. Still, despite this the Fenlands do have some crops, as their land is particularly good for growing rice, as well as some species of mangrove trees. Strangely, the region is also home to some of the oldest Castil superstitions and traditions, as the partially-inhospitable land created a natural resistance against modernisation. The Fens have since become a place of myth and legend, where people believe witches and other creatures like giant reptiles live. The Sutherlands Out of Castilland’s 2,000,000 people, the Sutherlands is home to the largest concentration of them. Carthens (named for the goddess Carthena) is the capital of the country and the oldest city in Castilland. It is currently the seat of the king, having moved from the original keep from the Hearthlands which King Gregray Westerly had it destroyed. Carthens is the city where Eduard, King of Castils is said to have died, and there is a gargantuan statue made in his honour at the centre of the city. The city alone holds 1/10th of the entire population of Castilland. Outside of the capital, most of the region is made of small villages with large swaths of farmland, most of these being vineyards. The Sutherlands themselves are one of the most beautiful and prosperous parts of Castilland. Rivaled only by the Ivory Isles, the Sutherlands are a major distributor of fruits and wine, known world-wide for their local variety of grape known as Black Beauties. They are said to be slightly tart but rich and sweet, and the nearly-black wine they produced is called Sutherland Sweet. The Ivory Isles The Ivory Isles, also called the Spice Isles, lie just off the coast of the Fenlands and rest at the edge of Farigner’s Cod, an area of turbulent waters more formally known as Flotsam Sound. This is caused by a chain of undersea volcanoes that lie on the fault line between Castilland and Galais, which was the cause of the country to split off from the mainland continent millennia before the age of man. The Ivory Isles are named such for the white sands that surround them. The islands themselves are some of the most fertile land in the world, teeming with fauna and exotic fruits and flora. They are known for exporting not so much one singular thing, but an array of foods and otherwise that could not normally be found on the mainland. They are ostensibly one large port, and receive traders from all parts of the world. Their history is unique to the rest of Castilland. The people who settled on the Isles were mostly fishermen and farmers, which created a more peaceful lifestyle than those of their mainland brethren. Eventually this bred a culture of intellectuals and scholars, who despite amassing the largest navy in the kingdom mainly used their seafaring talents for trade. While this allowed them to develop one of the most powerful traders there are, the Spice Isle Company, this also led them subjected to years of pirate raids by the neighbouring continent of Sereos. It is speculated that much of their seafaring ways were developed in resistance to the pirates. Escados Main article: Escados Escados is in the westernmost point of Castilland, home to the Thescans, who were the native inhabitants of the islands. It is a semi-arid region made mostly of farmland and mountains, with most of its cities located on the coast. Escados’ biggest exports are limestone and cotton, but other significant crops include hardy vegetables and fruits, grains, and fish. On the coasts, Escados’ port cities are made largely of beautiful stonework buildings made from the generous amounts of limestone the island has. Despite these epicenters of activity, most of the population lives as farmers in the rural central region. As the numbers of Escadosi have dwindled since Illiam’s Slaughter, a huge portion of their cities were destroyed, leaving nothing but rubble and ruins. The population of the entire island is somewhere around 60,000. Escados is around 8,000 square miles, or roughly the size of Wales. Notable cities Main article: Cities and castles Government As of 1 RE, Castilland has been an absolute monarchy with a system of feudalism in place. The original seat of the crown was located in the Hearthlands in what is now known as the Torchedstone, but is now in the capital city of Carthens, on the coast of the Sutherlands. Each of the provinces has a reigning lord, called a marchlord, appointed by the king, and each of these lords has several vassals, all which keep their respective provinces in check. Economy Overall, Castilland has a prosperous economy under the gold standard. The national tender is the golden trust, whose diminutives are the half-trust and quarter-trust. The approximate value of the golden trust is a years' worth of soldiers wages. Most people will never see a golden trust in their life, except for the extremely wealthy. Golden trusts are a small round coin made of fine gold and stamped with the head of the current king on one side, and the scales of justice on the other. Half-trusts are of silver alloy, and are the typical coinage used, along with the bronze quarter-trust. Half-trusts are worth around 1/200th of a golden trust, while quarter-trusts are around 1/4000th. Golden trusts are also the basis of the Castillan phrase "trust is golden", which means that loyalty can be bought. Demographics The main races of Castilland are the Castils, a fair-skinned people originating from northern Galais, and the Thescans, the bronze-skinned natives. The term for residents of the country is Castilmen. There are roughly 2,000,000 residents of Castilland, including 60,000 on Escados, and 200,000 in the city of Carthens alone. Culture Main articles: Culture of Castilland, Culture of Escados Category:History Category:Geography Category:Demographics Category:Politics Category:Economy Category:Culture Category:Locations